Having pushed Earth to the brink of environmental disaster and overpopulation, the central government segregates the populace. The wealthy and well-connected get to remain as they are, but billions of everyday working folks get forced into artificial, self-contained living spaces over the course of several decades. Some of those spaces remain relatively comfortable. Many are densely populated, and some of the most isolated don't even get natural sunlight. None of them have any say in how they are governed. This breeds unrest.
In the most remote communities, there is a growing push towards being self-governed. In tandem, the idea that their half-century plus of environmental isolation is pushing a new evolutionary path for humans starts taking hold. The champion of this ideal is a charismatic politician, who uses the notion of a higher-evolved humanity as justification for independence. Amid tensions with the corrupt, complacent central government, the politician dies suddenly. Both movements are then co-opted by populist fascists, whose leading family has effectively complete control of the local military. This leads to the deadliest, most brutal war humanity has ever seen.
This is the setup for Mobile Suit Gundam (1979), and yeah, I'd say that's still pretty relevant.
Revolutionary Girl Utena. I recently re-watched some of my favorite episodes again (for many times over the years) and can still discover new things that I wasn't aware before. The anime just keeps giving everytime I watch it and refuses to get irrelevant ever.
I love that show. It hits all the feels, and the opening still gives me chills. I've had the manga on my shelf for quite a few years at this point. I should probably get around to reading it.
Metropolis (2001 film) - directed by Rintaro, loosely based on Osamu Tezuka’s manga
minor spoilersIt’s a weirdly cool dystopian story/film with vibrant scenes, a great soundtrack, painfully lovable characters, CGI that actually looks great and still stands up to today’s standards, etc
this another anime film that I’d recommend going in blind if you can
Serial Experiments Lain. Came out before smartphones and yet predicted a lot of modern technology. It’s a fantastic look at how tech can shape our reality and mental health.
Big Agree, I watched Lain around the same time as I was reading a lot and the books I read at the time were similarly prophetic (Nueromancer, Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Permutation City) all right around the time of peak “The Matrix” hype…
Tell me a modern anime that’s relevant. They’re all titties and formula. 5-6 people, one awkward, one bold, one nerd, one tomboy, one stalwart, and a boy who’s confused.
Frieren. If you insist it should be an original screenplay, then Odd Taxi. Or Shirobako. The Heike Story. Sonny Boy. The majority of anything is always shit, you just remember the gems from before. There’s always excellent anime being made.
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